Issued July 17, 1907. 



U. S. Department of Agriculture, 



FOREST SERVICE, 

GIFFORD PINCHOT, Forester, 



INSTRUCTIONS FOR EXAMINATIONS. 
AGRICULTURAL SETTLEMENT. 

(Act of June ii, 1906.) 



JTJLY 1, 1D07. 



Canceling all previous conflicting instructions. 



\ I 



Issued July 17, 1907. 



U. S. Department of AoTiciilture, 



FOREST SERVICE, 
GIFFORD PINCHOT. Forester. 



INSTRUCTIONS FOR EXAMINATIONS. 

AGRICULTURAL SETTLEMENT. 

(Act of June ii, 1906.) 



JXJLY 1, lOOT, 



Canceling all previous conflicting instructions. 






^^^i ^o '^'-•^ 



i^ 



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Agricultural Settlemeut under the Act of 
June II, 1906. 

(Canceling all previous orders and instructions on this subject.) 



Part 1.— GENERAL. 



It is the policy of the Forest Service to put the lands 
within National Forests to their best use. All lands 
which are of value for agriculture, except those necessary 
for administrative purposes, are for occupation and devel- 
opment by home makers. Under the act of June 11, 
1906, which provides for the entry of agricultural lands 
within National Forests, settlers who will develop the 
tillable portions of the Forests and maintain permanent 
homes are welcomed. The Forest Service is anxious 
that there shall be as many permanent settlers as pos- 
sible within the Forests ; they will always get the benefit 
of any doubt, but the passage of valuable timberlands 
from the possession of the Government for speculative 
purposes under the guise of homesteads will not be 
tolerated. 

The present stage of agricultural development in the 
West is not a fair criterion by which to judge the ulti- 
mate "value of the lands for agricultural purposes. With 
increased knowledge of the science of agriculture and 
changed market conditions, the area of lands suitable for 
agricultural purposes is constantly increasing. 

Under the terms of the act only lands chiefly valuable 
for agriculture will be listed. The close relation of pas- 
turage is important, and enough adjoining land, when not 

3 



4 INSTRUCTIONS FOR EXAMINATIONS. 

chiefly valuable for Forest purposes, may be granted the 
applicant to supplement the development of the tillable 
portions. 

Squatters who settled on National Forest land before 
its withdrawal and who are awaiting surveys to make 
entry have the same right to occupy and enjoy their hold- 
ings as homestead entrymen, and maj^ await survey or 
apply for the examination of their lands under the act of 
June 11, 1906, with a view to opening them to homestead 
entry. Persons who settled in trespass before January 1, 
1906, and have not abandoned their claims, may, if quali- 
fied, take advantage of the act, and in the meantime may 
occupy and enjoy their holdings without permit. 

Squatters who apply for listing under the act should be 
informed that since the lands must be chiefly valuable for 
agriculture, the Forest Service can not guarantee that a 
full tract of 160 acres will be listed. However, examiners 
should pursue a liberal policy in examining land on which 
settlement has been made prior to its withdrawal for For- 
est purposes, and the actual settler should be given the 
benefit of any doubt. 

Applicants who appear to have the preference right of 
entry under the act maj^ secure, without charge ^^ a permit 
for the agricultural use of that portion of the land applied 
for which, in the opinion of the supervisor, is chiefly val- 
uable for agriculture, provided that the land is not ad- 
versely claimed under settlement made before its with- 
drawal, or after its withdrawal and before January 1, 1906. 
Land covered with a stand of merchantable timber should 
not be considered chiefly valuable for agriculture under 
this paragraph. 

Upon request, supervisors should prepare a special-use 



AGRICULTURAL SETTLEMENT. 5 

application on Form 832 and send it to the applicant for 
signature, to be returned for action in the usual manner 
under the special-use regulations. 

The following paragraph should be incorporated in each 
permit : 

In the examination of the hind nnder the act of June 11, 1906, 
to determine its agricultural character, this permit shall not be 
considered ; neither shall it be construed to give the permittee 
any preference right of entry under that act. This permit shall 
terminate when the land is opened to entry under that act; but if 
it is shown that the permittee has not the preference right of 
entry, the listing of land for opening to entry will be deferred by 
the Secretary of Agriculture to protect the growing crops. 

Applications for listing will not be affected by these 
special-use permits. 

Supervisors have been instructed to submit lists of the 
tracts that maj- be needed for administrative purposes. 
Often they base their recommendations only on present 
needs. The examiner should bear in mind, however, that 
the National Forest work is in its infancy. In ten years 
the demands upon tlie executive force by the public will 
probabl}^ require a ranger to every township. Each ranger 
will need a headquarters cabin, a small piece of agricul- 
tural land, and a horse pasture. In recommending land 
for administrative purposes, such factors as the distance 
from towns and future logging operations should be con- 
sidered. In arid regions, water holes, springs, etc., should 
not be listed unless it is certain that they are not needed 
by the Government. 

If it is found that a tract of land applied for is essential 
for a reservoir site for the water suppl.y of a city, or for the 
protection of a supply already established, this would be 
regarded by the Forest Service as a higher use of the land 



6 INSTRUCTIONS FOU EXAMINATIONS. 

than cultivation by one settler. If the area constitutes 
the key to the transportation of a block of timber, and its 
loss would seriously hamper the Forest Service in the dis- 
posal of 'this timber, the application should be denied. 
The retention of a right of way should be given the most 
careful consideration. It should be remembered that if 
this land is listed and passes from the United States it is 
given awa3' in fee simple, and the Forest Service can make 
no stipulation as to its future use. 

Part 2.— DIRECTION. 

The direction of the examination of agricultural lands 
within National Forests under the act of June 11, 1906, 
will be under the control of the chief inspectors. 

The work will be done according to the following plan : 
Lists of all applications, together with detailed plats, will 
be sent to each supervisor concerned. Duplicate lists of 
applications (without plats) will be sent to each chief 
inspector concerned. The examinations will be made, 
when possible, b}' men engaged on boundary work, or, if 
desirable, by inspectors, working always under the direc- 
tion of the chief inspector, who will secure advance infor- 
mation, through his examiners or by correspondence with 
the supervisor, of the general character of all lands applied 
for. As a rule,, all those applications upon which it is 
likely that favorable action will be taken should be exam- 
ined and reported upon first, and the chief inspector will 
plan the work accordingl3\ He may turn over to the 
supervisor applications upon which favorable action is 
expected. When in the judgment of the chief inspector 
all applications on a National Forest can be safely han- 
dled by the supervisor without arousing a strong adverse 



AGRICULTURAL SETTLEMENT. 7 

local sentiment against the supervisor's administration, 
he may turn them over to him. 

Supervisors are hereby instructed to examine promptly 
such claims as may be turned over to them bj^ the chief 
inspectors. 

All reports will be addressed to the Forester. They will 
be submitted through the supervisor and the chief inspec- 
tor. If either of these officers disagree with any recom- 
mendation of an examiner, he will attach a note to that 
effect. The chief inspector will approve or disapprove 
each report. 
•■ The examiners will always consult freely with the 

I supervisor, both before and after the field work. 
i 

i Part 3. — EXECUTION. 

. All reports should be made on Form 110. On account 
^ of the urgency of the work and in order that reports ma}' 
be submitted with reasonable promptness, examiners may 
write their reports with pen during their trips when this 
will make a distinct saving of time and mone}^ Special 
care must be taken to make reports and maps legible, 
although the work need not be done in finished st3de. 

The examination should iiiclude all land in the vicinity 
for wliich application has been made or is likely to be 
made, and thus obviate the necessity and expense of 
another trip into the same neighborhood upon subsequent 
applications. When adjacent areas are reported a separate 
form (110) should be used, and no reference to the addi- 
tional listing of land in the report upon an area applied 
for should be made. When contiguous areas are recom- 
mended for listing, the word "General" should appear 
after the heading "Name and address of applicant," as 



8 INSTRUCTIONS FOR EXAMINATIONS. 

provided for on the form. Mapping of contiguous areas 
must be made onlj^ on Form 110. 

General maps of topographic units, such as watersheds, 
will be made only in the discretion of the inspector or 
supervisor where it can be said conclusively that all sub- 
sequent applications should be rejected, or where general 
areas are examined with the same accuracy as lands 
covered by individual applications. This requires the 
establishment of initial monuments on unsurveyed land 
recommended for listing. All maps must be drawn on 
the scale of 8 inches to the mile. No reports need be 
made in duplicate. 

If the land applied for is included in a pending entry, 
the report need only show the name of claimant, descrip- 
tion of the land, and kind of entry. If the land has been 
withdrawn or recommended for withdrawal for adminis- 
trative purposes (rangers' quarters, nursery sites, etc.), 
the reports need only show the n^ime of the applicant and 
a description of the land. If the examiner believes the 
land should be withdrawn for administrative purposes, he 
sliould, while on the ground, make a complete examina- 
tion and survey in accordance with both the instructions 
for report on agricultural settlement (Form 110) and for 
the survey of administrative sites. 

Applications for the same unsurveyed tract may some- 
times be made under apparently different descriptions. 
For this reason the priority of applicants can not always 
be determined, and the examiner must include in his re- 
port the names of all the applicants on his list who applj^ 
for the tract. Should an unsurveyed tract of more than 
160 acres be examined, the names of all the applicants 



AGRICULTURAL SETTLEMENT. 9 

should be included, even if the particular land desired by 
each applicant can not be determined. 

Survej'S should be made in accordance with the instruc- 
tions for the survey of administrative sites, with the fol- 
lowing modifications, to avoid confusion and to distinguish 
homestead surveys from ranger-site surveys. The follow- 
ing S3^stem of marks on the initial monuments, corners, 
and witnesses should be used : 

Forest Service monuments should be chiseled or carved 
F S M H (Cir., Survey of Rangers' Sites); witnessing mour 

uments should be chiseled or carved ^ ; corners should 

be chiseled or carved H, and witnessing corners chiseled 
or carved W H. When the monument is used as the initial 

part of the survey, it should be chiseled or carved ^ with 

M H * 
the corner marking beneath, thus: W . Platting on trac- 

1 

ing linen will not be required. 

Since the final decision as to the action to be taken 
rests with the Forester, it is necessary that the type of 
cover of the land be clearly shown on the map accom- 
panying the reports. For this purpose colored crayons 
will be used for showing classifications in conformity with 
the Forest Atlas Legend, of which copies have been sent 
to all Forest officers in the field. 

Formulas for preparing the tints were mailed under 
date of May 8, 1907, and crayons will hereafter be fur- 
nished in boxes containing the twelve distinctive colors, 
and provided with labels showing the number of the pen- 
cil to be used for each classification. 

The lands it is recommended to list should be clearly 



10 INSTRUCTIONS FOR EXAMINATIONS. 

outlined on the maps with a blue-penciled line. The 
lands for which application is made will be shown by a 
heavy black line, and the lands reserved for administra- 
tive purposes will be shown in red. National Forest 
boundaries will be shown in green. A description will be 
given both of the area applied for and that recommended 
for listing. In every case the classification of cover should 
appear as a legend on the map. 

On surveyed lands where the cover is of value, listing 
may be recommended in 2i-acre rectangular tracts, other- 
wise the 10-acre tracts should be used (Cir., Survey of 
Ranger Sites). 

The establishment of corners will not be required where 
it can be conclusively shown in a written report that list- 
ing should be denied. But in no case will an unfavorable 
report be accepted unless the examiner's recommenda- 
tion is sustained by the chief inspector. 

Photographs will usually be of the greatest help and 
should be taken whenever opportunity affords. 

The examination should be conducted in such a man- 
ner as to inspire confidence in the examiner's ability. He 
must be frank and courteous; but since final action can be 
taken onl3' by the Forester, no statements for or against 
listing of the land should be made to the applicants. 

The examiner's reports must be complete in ever}' de- 
tail and contain definite recommendations for or against 
the listing of the land. 

The examiners should be thoroughly familiar with the 
act of June 11, 1906. Special attention is called to the 
circular of the General Land Office, September 7, 1906, 
"Regulations Governing Entries within Forest Reserves." 



AGRICULTURAL SETTLEMENT. 11 

Part 4.— RECORD. 

A book of township plats, 2 inches to the mile, upon 
which to keep a record of applications, will be sent to 
each supervisor. The method of keeping these records 
should be uniform, as given below, so that all subsequent 
applications may be noted from the small transmitting 
plats without detailed instructions. 

Each book is provided with an index page upon which 
the record is kept. Certain colors are assigned to certain 
uses and should alwa3's be so used. A green line inclos- 
ing a space signifies that the land is outside the boundaries 
of the National Forest and its withdrawals. An outline 
with the same color and hatched in green denotes that a 
tract has been listed ; an X, that the application has been 
denied. A red inclosure indicates that the tract has been 
recommended for withdrawal for administrative purposes, 
and when hatched in the same color that the withdrawal 
has been made. The other colors are used indiscrimi- 
nately for contrast in conflicting applications on irregular 
tracts of surveyed or unsurveyed land, when the latter can 
be located with sufficient accuracy to plat them. No 
colors are used to designate tracts in 40-acre units, and 
the applicant's number onl}^ is inserted in the "forty; " 
but when less than a "forty" is covered, or the tract is 
irregular, a contrasting color should be used to distinguish 
it. When a color is used with any other special meaning, 
this should be noted briefly on the margin of the plat. 

Descriptions of unsurveyed tracts, which can not be 
entered on the record, will be sent to .the supervisors in 
exact transcript of the description given by the applicant, 
and the name, address, etc., of the applicant should be 
entered on the index page of the record. If in the opinion 



12 INSTRUCTIONS FOR EXAMINATIONS. 

of the supervisor the description is not sufficiently definite 
to identify the particular land the applicant wishes exam- 
ined, the Forester should be informed, and the applicant 
will be notified. 

A monthly report of the status of the agricultural settle- 
ment work will be required of each examiner and each 
supervisor. The blank form for these reports will be fur- 
nished on application to the Forester. 

The examiner's monthly report should be made out in 
triplicate. One copy should be sent to the Forester, one 
to the chief inspector, and one to the supervisor. 

The supervisor's monthly report should also be made 
out in triplicate, one copy to be sent to the Forester, one 
to the chief inspector, and one to be retained in the super- 
visor's files. 

Care should be taken to fill out the blanks in detail. 
The number and name of ever}^ application received dur- 
ing the month should be noted. If the land applied for 
is examined during the current month, the date of exami- 
nation should be given. If the examination is not made 
until the next or a following month, the number and 
name of the application should be carried forward, and 
the date of receipt, examination, etc., should be given. 

O 



